Lessons learned from the Augmented Reality hype

Matthew Szymczyk wrote an insightful piece on the lessons learned from the AR hype a few years ago. He presents the lessons to VR companies that are currently experiencing a similar hype phase.

Szymczyk’s lessons learned:

Focus on your own product, do not be tempted to adapt your product for one-off customers: “it’s critical to focus on potential projects that advance your platform with minimal customization”;

Be very selective accepting opportunities that trade PR opportunities for your advancement costs: “Nothing gets the blood boiling more than a multibillion-dollar brand or tech company trying to get your small startup to subsidize costs for their brand or product”;

Create an outbound sales strategy. Inbound sales are easy in a hype phase but will end;

Avoid being just a gimmick: “it’s only a matter of time until they lose their luster as the next BSO (Bright Shiny Object) lands on marketers and consumers’ radars. So it’s important to continue to evolve your technology and platform so you’re never asked, “This is cool … but then what?””.